Will Trent – Nice to Meet You, Malcolm – Review: Love Bombed

Nice to Meet Who?

“Nice to Meet You, Malcolm” is Will Trent in its sweet spot: a character-first hour wrapped in two intersecting investigations, buoyed by humor, romance, and just enough heartbreak to keep the emotional stakes taut. This episode knows exactly what it’s doing—spotlighting GBI Special Agent Faith Mitchell (Iantha Richardson) at her most open, most hopeful, and therefore most vulnerable.

Faith Mitchell, Hopeless Romantic and Certified Keeper of the Real

Atlanta’s dating pool is apparently a wasteland of men who think “fix my parking ticket” is a meet cute. Faith is mid–block and delete on a dating app nonstarter when the universe finally throws her a bone: a devastatingly handsome stranger, Malcolm (DeVaughn Nixon). He approaches her with charm, curiosity, and the kind of attention that makes a woman forget she had plans to go home alone.

“Nice to Meet You, Malcolm – WILL TRENT. Pictured: (l-r) Iantha Richardson
as Faith Mitchell, DeVaugh Nixon as Malcolm. Photo: Disney/Daniel Delgado Jr ©
2026 Disney. All rights reserved.

Three hours later, Faith is swept into a beautifully choreographed entanglement, the kind of tastefully steamy rom com moment that says: yes, the girl still has it. And yes—anyone who’s been watching this show immediately thought: What is her roommate Detective Michael Ormewood (Jake McLaughlin) going to say about this? The answer arrives near the end of the episode.

Oh, he noticed she hasn’t slept at home for three nights. He’s quietly, almost tenderly, concerned. Michael’s stakeout conversation with Special Agent Will Trent (Ramon Rodriquez)—asking whether Faith seems happy—lands with surprising emotional weight. Micheal’s not jealous; he’s protective, but in a way that’s distinct from Will’s instinct to shield his partner. It’s a lovely beat.

 The Love Bomb Heard ’Round the Police Station

 Malcolm is the kind of man who rents out a movie theater, supplies an apple dessert, and screens Say Anything because it’s Faith’s favorite film. It’s intoxicating. It’s also suspiciously perfect.

So, when Will calls Faith to warn her that Malcolm is a confirmed suspect in APD’s corporate-espionage case, the heartbreak is immediate. She’s floating, but Will, who genuinely believes she’s happy, bursts her love bubble. The truth lingers, then sinks, leaving Faith questioning what to do next.

“Nice to Meet You, Malcolm – WILL TRENT. Pictured: (l-r) Ramon Rodriquez as Will Trent, Iantha Richardson
as Faith Mitchell. Photo: Disney/Daniel Delgado Jr ©
2026 Disney. All rights reserved
The GBI Case: Murder in the Matchmaking World 

Faith and Will’s case is a sharp, well-paced procedural anchored by Faith’s instincts. The murder of Sawyer Jennings, a high-end matchmaker, opens a window into a business model that charges men $50,000 and women only $5,000. Sawyer’s business partner, Liv Somerman (Marguerite Moreau), calls this pricing model “tradition,” but Faith calls it what it looks like: the difference between matchmaking and prostitution.

The real story is uglier. A wealthy client, Brody Evans (Logan Michael Smith), assaulted potential match, Anna Martello (Greyson Chadwick). When Martello reported the offense to Jennings, he promised her that Brody would be dropped from their client roster. Unfortunately, Jennings did not know that his partner, Somerman, had already taken $100,000 from Brody to bury the assault. Jennings threatened the arrangement. And suddenly, Jennings was dead.

Although Brody quickly became a person of interest, he had an airtight alibi. So, Will and Faith turn their attention to Somerman. Their investigation dismantles Somerman’s spin-class alibi with methodical precision. It’s classic GBI work—clean, credible, and satisfying.

“Nice to Meet You, Malcolm – WILL TRENT. Pictured: (l-r) Marguerite Moreau as Liv Somerman, Iantha
Richardson as Faith Mitchell. Photo: Disney/Daniel Delgado Jr © 2026 Disney. All
rights reserved

The APD Case: From Bank Heist to Corporate Espionage

What starts as a straightforward bank robbery and murder quickly mutates into a corporate espionage nightmare. While digging in, Detectives Polaski and Ormewood stumble upon the near suicide of the man tied to the mysterious safe deposit box. That man—Wyatt Fernsby (Marc LeVasseur)—lifted confidential files from his employer, Biosentia Pharmaceuticals. Documents worth killing for. And, as Fernsby proves, worth dying for.

Of course, this crime leads straight to Faith’s new millionaire hotelier hookup, Malcolm. The case isn’t solved yet, which gives the episode a serialized pulse and leaves Faith’s emotional arc dangling until next week.

“Nice to Meet You, Malcolm – WILL TRENT. Pictured: (l-r) Sonja Sohn as
Amanda Wagner, Ramon Rodriquez as Will Trent, Iantha Richardson as Faith
Mitchell. Photo: Disney/Daniel Delgado Jr © 2026 Disney. All rights
reserved.  
Humor, Banter, and the Joy of Ensemble

This episode is deeply unserious in all the right ways. 

Michael Ormewood is back in full rotation—post chemo, post cancer, feeling fantastic, and cracking jokes about having “superpowers.”

Franklin (Kevin Daniels) and Captain Heller’s (Todd Allen Durkin) stroller building fiasco is peak workplace comedy.

Will and Amanda (Sonja Sohn) clowning Faith for using Amanda’s name on dates—complete with Will dubbing her “Amanda Chiquita”—is exactly the kind of affectionate ribbing that makes their workplace hum.

Pairing Special Agent Will Trent with Detective Michael Ormewood to track down the bank robber who wore the Cheetah mask (aka Preston Willis)? Inspired. Their dynamic is fresh, slightly awkward, and layered—especially when Will’s little digs at Michael’s machismo and his supposed “superpowers” slip out. They read as microaggressions to me. Is it jealousy because Michael gets to work with a very pregnant Angie Polaski (Erika Christensen)? Or is it simply that Michael’s more physically imposing?

And did anyone else clock how unsettled Will looked in the elevator when Faith was making a whole production out of Angie’s baby bump? He’s clearly making progress in therapy, but he’s not ready to graduate just yet.

“Nice to Meet You, Malcolm – WILL TRENT. Pictured: (l-r) Ramon Rodriquez as Will Trent, Jake
McLauglin as Michael Ormewood. Photo: Disney/Daniel Delgado Jr © 2026 Disney. All
rights reserved.

Final Thoughts

 “Nice to Meet You, Malcolm” delivers everything a Will Trent episode should: a Point Break-style, high-stakes heist with the bank robbers swapping animal masks in for the masks of dead presidents. The episode also has character development, humor, romance, and a final twist that hits Faith hard enough to leave viewers genuinely worried about her emotional and physical well-being.

There’s a beautiful, almost porous quality to Faith and Mike’s relationship now—a direct result of living together through his illness. Their growth is a reminder that the best TV characters don’t stay static; they carry their scars. That shared history gives every moment between them a soulful, weary intimacy. The same has always been true for Angie and Will.

I love this episode, and I continue to respect the craft of this standout show. For me, it’s an easy 10 out of 10.

What do you think about Amanda’s dangerous liaison? Let me know in the comments. 

Lynette Jones